New Series

Good Sunday to everyone!
It has warmed up some here in south Texas!  We had about 3 days that were in the 70's and 80's...more like our seasonal temperatures.  It has been chilly for the last month and a half...not anything like the rest of the country has endured!  But cool for us!  Tomorrow it is going to get chilly again so I am going to just work on my designs and stay warm.  Not complaining...we are blessed.

I am working on a new series that will be released at the Nashville Needlework market in February.  I don't have pictures yet since they will be off to the framer and finisher tomorrow.I designed this series so it could be finished or framed individually or stitched as one piece.  The pieces are just 5 inches by 5 inches or 75 by 75. A quick stitch as a weekend project.  I will release the first three with the chart placement design in the first packet and then release the remainder of the series (9 pieces in all) one per month.

I am looking forward to this evening as I am a Downton Abbey fan!  Last week"s first episode of season wasn't as exciting as I hoped...still wishing Matthew hadn't been killed off...but hoping new and interesting plots will develop this season.

And thank you everyone for the kind comments I have received on the release of Blue Manor.  My inspiration came while re-watching previous seasons of Downton Abbey.  I loved working with those colors...they were so soothing!  Another thing I have been doing lately is coffee dying my own linen. I usually use a 30 count linen...no eye strain with that count for me.  I purchased several yards of white linen last summer and hand dyed about a yard of it myself.  I use a large flat plastic storage tub to dye larger pieces.  This is what found works best for me.  I brew good ole Folgers about twice the strength as coffee you would drink.  While the grounds are still warm...I rub them into the fabric for a staining effect.  Let it sit for about 30 minutes, then go back and pour the warm, not hot coffee ( it will shrink your linen) over the entire piece of linen, then put the lid on the tub and let set for about an hour. I take it out and rinse with cool water to remove the grounds.  The more you rinse the lighter it gets so don't rinse out all of your work!  The remainder of the grounds will come out after it is dries. I then iron it with a hefty amount of spray sizing.  I've been getting the results of probably an equivalent to R&R's Creme Brûlée. Another hint...when you rub the coffee grounds into the linen, do it before you add warm coffee. For some reason, if you do it the other way around you won't get the staining effect!  I also purchased some walnut grounds and I'm going try those soon!

Anyway...if you have some extra white linen try it. Less expensive and you don't have to wait for your hand dyed linen.

Hope you have a greet week!

Happy Stitching!

Gayle

Another Year! So Many Ideas...so little time!

Hi Everyone!
Hope your new year has been great so far! Over the Christmas holiday, I took a much needed break and spent some down time just reading some needlework blogs.  Oh, the talent we have out there!  Some of the things I saw were just wonderful...and I always wonder how these ladies and gentlemen are so inspired.  We they inspired me and I am now working on a new series to come out in the next month or so.
I have so many ideas that I just can't get them stitched as quickly as I would like...so I am now looking for a couple of model stitchers.  If you love to stitch and don't mind stitching on a "kinda" schedule, please e-mail me a sample of your work.  I will furnish the materials and pay a small stipend. You can e-mail me at gaylereger@aol.com for more details.

Don't forget to look for my new design, Blue Manor.  I had such a great time stitching this piece.  I hope you will too.  Another quick peak....

Happy New Year!  And thank you for all your support in 2013!
Gayle
Abby Rose Designs

Blue Manor--Final Design for 2013

Hi Everyone!
I guess everyone is making their final preparations for the holiday!  We have been experiencing unusually cold temperatures here in South Texas.  It makes it seem more like Christmas when it is chilly outside....but this poor transplant from the east coast has turned into a sissy and has a hard time dealing with the cold!  So I've been stitching a little more lately.  I think I mentioned in my last post that I have been re-watching previous seasons of Downton Abbey, preparing for the first episode of the season...I believe on January 5th.  My new designs was inspired by all that episode watching over the last few weeks.  I hope you like it.  I'm packaging right now and hope to have them to Norden and Hoffman Distributing within the next week.  It should be available for purchase at your local needlework store in a couple of weeks.

I've had a great time designing this past year and thank you for purchasing my designs.  I have seen my sales grow over the year and appreciate all the encouragement and e-mails that I get from all my new friends.  And remember if you ever have a question about a pattern, please don't hesitate to e-mail me.  I try to always make sure charts are correct but things do get by me as hard as I try....

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you all!

Gayle....Abby Rose Designs

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you are enjoying your day!  I am thankful for so many things...a warm place to live...too much to eat...a great family...my health...a wonderful job...my design company....I could go on for pages.  I'm especially thankful this year because last year I had health issues around this time and was about to endure surgery.  This year the holidays will be even sweeter!  It's good to reflect. It makes you humble...that's not a bad thing!

This past week Faye from the Carolina Stitcher posted a new finish for my latest design, Merry Christmas Too Thee.  She was the also the original finisher for the pillow. She made the cutest ornament and you've got to see it.  carolinastitcher.blogspot.com.  I'd post the picture here but I'm having technical difficulties :).   Faye's work is beautiful and we'll be doing some things together again soon.

I'm finishing up my new design....poor thing doesn't have a name yet.  I've been re-watching the earlier seasons of Downton Abby so it reminds me of that era. And a couple of weeks ago I purchased another antique sampler and have already charted it.  Just need to stitch it up.

It came from an estate in Connecticut and has it's original Birdseye maple frame.  The glass is still intact and it appears to be the old waves type of glass.  Although it is not dated, my guess would be around 1830's.  It seems to have some of the same motifs and type of linen as my earlier sampler Ann Merchant.

My latest Trunk Show with The Crafty Ewe in Ohio just ended and my babies arrived home a few days ago.  Thank you to Carol for taking such good care of them.  And thank you everyone who purchased a design chart!

I'll be posting again soon with a peek of my newest design.  Happy Thanksgiving....and I hope you saved a little time to stitch today.

Gayle

Even Designers Frog!!!!

Hi Everyone! 
This weekend I planned to stitch.  Sometimes life gets in the way of stitching and that is what has happened to me lately.  As much as I LOVE stitching, designing....it is not my full time job.  In my other life I am an Executive Director for a non-profit.  I LOVE it too!  So some times I don't get to design and stitch as much as I'd like to....Back to the planning to stitch this weekend....  I live in South Texas and it is HOT most of the time.  So to my further enjoyment, we had a small, I'm going to say cool front, not cold front.  But it did get into the upper 50's at night :)!  Anyway, Saturday morning I got up with big plans to finish half of my new design and then it happened!  I noticed the top part of my border seemed to be out of wack. After further review, I realized I would have to take out most of the top portion of the border.  So I frogged and frogged.....finally finished.  Now to start re-stitching....re-stitched the top, then off to the left side, stitched half of that border.  It was late when I finished on Saturday night...my eyes were tired.  Sitting in one place with minor breaks for a practically a day is hard work!  I thought I'll finish this to tomorrow.

Sunday morning....the sun is shining, it is cool and I finish up  a few things around the house and get ready to tackle my new design.....I pick up the piece and realize that I have stitch the entire border in the wrong color of green!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Needless to say, I spent the afternoon frogging again.....I couldn't live with the new color green!  When this piece is complete and framed, I know I will forget the pain it has caused me.... because this is not the first time I have frogged! 

Hope you have a great week!  Maybe next post, I'll be able to show you some fruits of my labor. 

Gayle

Correction!!!!! Boo Boo Fixed!

Good Afternoon Everyone! 
I have a correction to make to the  "Home Is Where You Hang Your Needlework".  If you have a chart that has all $ signs on the flower border, please note that the top row of the border should a have white flower on the fourth flower facing down, then on the right side the second flower facing out should be white, the bottom row should have a white flower facing up on the fourth flower, and finally the left border, fourth flower facing in should also be white.  The white used was Weeks Dye Work White Wash and the symbol is a 4.
I don't think all charts were affected but there may be a few out there.  If you have any problems, please e-mail me at gaylereger@aol.com.

Coming soon....Merry Christmas To Thee

Happy Saturday Everyone!
It's a hot one here in South Texas today! But we are patiently waiting for our first cool front due in tonight. Tomorrow will be a little crispier and fresher and will finally feel like autumn...at least for a few days!

I am so pleased to present my latest design called Merry Christmas To Thee. If you are like me, you like to stitch up something for dear friends as a keepsake that will remind them every time they see it of the friendship you have enjoyed over time. That was my inspiration for this pillow which can be stitch up quickly and beautifully finished. I am not a finisher!....so I asked my new friend, Faye Riggsbee, you probably know her as "The Carolina Stitcher" to finish my new design. What a beautiful job she did......



Took this photo with my ipad. It is even more beautiful in person! Thank you Faye. You did a beautiful job! The chart will be available at your LNS within the next couple of weeks. --
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Texas